Best Practices

Related Links

Note: At the present, the university considers social media channels to be extensions of our university website. Refer to Wright Way Policy for official rules and regulations. Some units, such as the Boonshoft School of Medicine, have incorporated more specific policies that relate to their field's standards. Please contact your unit's marketing representative to inquire if such policies exist for your use.

Select Appropriate Profile Image(s)

Choose profile images that convey your office/organization and ties to Wright State University. Please do not use the official Wright State bi-plane logo for your profile image. This is reserved for the official university-level pages.

Contact Katie Halberg at (937) 912-0660 or email socialmedia@wright.edu if you wish to further discuss your profile images.

Be Transparent and Honest

Identify yourself as a person affiliated with Wright State. If you are stating your own opinion, be sure to clarify that it is your own, and not that of the university. Include the following statement frequently:

"The views and opinions expressed on unofficial pages of Wright State University faculty, staff, or students are strictly those of the page authors. The content of these pages has not been reviewed or approved by Wright State University."

Be Polite

Treat people with courtesy and respect. Do not engage in or condone discriminatory, defamatory, or other detrimental conversations.

Moderating Comments

Negative comments are a part of social media. Do not delete them, or your page will lose its authenticity. Address them in a positive and honest manner. Do not allow yourself to get into arguments with individuals online.

Profanity is discouraged. A good rule of thumb is to see whether you would let a child or grandparent read the page or post.

Please contact Katie Halberg at (937) 912-0660 or email socialmedia@wright.edu for information on how to handle questionable or threatening comments.

Understand the Online Community

Each social network has its own understood set of norms, covering everything from frequency of posting to language used. Spend some time getting to know the people and accepted uses of the site before delving into it.

Understand Privacy and Safety

All content posted on social media is available to the public, including the media.

Do not post any identifying information about your students or other sensitive information, including social security numbers, UID, full date of birth, financial data, etc.

Know that Content is King

Post relevant and interesting content and your followers will increase. Create content based on what they know, want, and need. Take care to not confuse this with what you want.

Also, be sure you understand how frequently you should post. If you post too frequently, you will lose followers. The accepted frequency varies by channel and audience. If you post multiple times per day, be sure that your posts are spaced at least one to two hours apart.

Try to link back to the university's website and your group's website as much as possible, to further engage your followers. Use a web address shortening service that tracks clicks to determine which types of content are popular with your audience. Download Getting Started with Bit.ly (PDF) to see how the Office of Marketing shortens and tracks online clicks.

Do Not Allow Advertising and Soliciting

Delete posts that are non-university advertisements or soliciting your community members. If you happen across information that is relevant to your community, then you may share it, but do not sell or promise promotions via social media.